In the construction industry, various types of check dams are used in ditches to reduce the velocity of water flow so as to reduce or to eliminate erosion in the ditch bed and to collect sediment carried by the water flow. Settling of sediment carried by the water flow is intended to occur when the water flow encounters the check dam and flows over it. When conventional check dams with standard lengths are used in such applications, issues can arise from water flow bypassing the conventional dams and flowing around the sides thereof. When this bypassing occurs, sediment carried by the water flow does not have on opportunity to settle.
Conventional forms of wattles and logs used in check dam applications are generally circular in cross section. The circular structure results from the method of construction in which a tube of netting is stuffed with filler from one end. When installed, less than the entire diameter of the circular log will contact the ground due to its shape, resulting in performance issues that require additional installation steps to address. Water tends to flow between the ground and convention cylindrical wattles and logs since they lack sufficient contact and downward pressure to form adequate barriers to water flow. The additional installation steps that are sometimes taken with conventional wattles and logs can include the digging of trenches and the extensive use of ropes to anchor the circular wattles and logs in place. Use of anchoring ropes tends to result in water flowing between the circular log and the rope, thereby undercutting the log and at least partially defeating the purpose thereof. Furthermore, the performance efficiency per unit of weight of a conventional wattle log is not optimal due to the log being wider in diameter than the diameter of the portion thereof that actually contacts the ground.
Consequently, there is a need for a system usable in check dam applications that can address one or more of these and other shortcomings.